nded from the boats, carrying women and children ashore;
by day and by night white seagulls take turns to mark the place--and
have done so through centuries.

This branch had in a marked degree the typical characteristics of
the family: two eyes--and a nose in the middle of their faces; one
mouth which could both kiss and bite, and a pair of fists which they
could make good use of. In addition to this the family was alike in
that most of its members were better than their circumstances. One
could recognize the Man family anywhere by their bad qualities being
traceable to definite causes, while for the good in them there was
no explanation at all: it was inbred.

It was a desolate spot they had settled upon, but they took it as it
was, and gave themselves up patiently to the struggle for existence,
built huts, chopped wood and made ditches. They were contented and
hardy, and had the Man's insatiable desire to overcome difficulties;
for them there was no bitterness in work, and before long the result
of their labors could be seen. But keep the profit of their work
they could not; they allowed others to have the spending of it, and
thus it came about, that in spite of their industry they remained as
poor as ever.

Over a century ago, before the north part of the coast was
discovered by the land folk, the place still consisted of a cluster
of hunch-backed, mildewed huts, which might well have been the
originals, and on the whole resembled a very ancient hamlet. The
beach was strewn with tools and drawn-up boats. The water in the
little bay stank of castaway fish, catfish and others which, on
account of their singular appearance, were supposed to be possessed
of devils, and therefore not eaten.

A quarter of an hour's walk from the hamlet, out on the point, lived
Soeren Man. In his young days he had roamed the seas like all the
others, but according to custom had later on settled himself down
as a fisherman. Otherwise, he was really more of a peasant and
belonged to that branch of the family which had devoted itself to
the soil, and for this had won much respect. Soeren Man was the son
of a farmer, but on reaching man's estate, he married a fisher girl
and gave himself up to fishing together with agriculture--exactly as
the first peasant in the family had done.

The land was poor, two or three acres of downs where a few sheep
struggled for their food, and this was all that remained of a large
farm which had once been